38 \\ 5 Audience Engagement Tips to Increase Lead Generation and Strengthen Customer Relationships

When you focus on engagement, you're really actually helping fill the void, the void that someone is looking to fill with the services or offers that you have. Ultimately, by doing that, you're going to build trust and relationships with your potential clients.
Tired of showing up online, posting your heart out and still hearing crickets? Are you doing all the right things but wondering why your content isn't converting? Your DMs are dry and your audience isn't buying? You're not alone, and this podcast is exactly for you. Welcome to Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses, where strategy meets soul and connection. Well, that's the secret sauce.
Hi, I'm Cheyanne Cleyman, a wife, proud mama of three, former actress and fitness trainer turned serial entrepreneur and online relationship expert. Over the last decade, I've built my own brands, helped dozens of others grow theirs, and discovered one powerful truth, connection is the real currency. If you're a service-based business or high-ticket brand that wants more leads, trust and sales from social media without the burnout or fake hype, you're in the right place. Each week, I'm bringing you short, powerful and packed episodes that feel like a coffee date with a best friend and biz coach all in one. Let's turn your followers into clients and content into connection. This is Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses, and it's about to change how you show up online.
Let's dive in, boss. Hey boss, welcome back to Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses. I'm your host, Cheyanne Cleyman, and today we're diving into something that a lot of small business owners face and honestly do not like talking about. It's feeling like you're chasing ghosts in your lead generation. You're putting in the work, but your leads are just not engaging, and it feels like you're just constantly spinning your wheels. Don't worry, I've got practical steps to help you turn that all around today. So if you're a note taker like I am, go ahead and bust out your note section on your phone. Or if you're old school, grab a notebook, and let's go ahead and dive in and fix this problem right away.
So as they say in what any 12-step program, the first part of fixing it is admitting you have a problem, right? So that's what we're going to do today, is it's okay if you found this episode, because that's probably showing that you're ready to fix the problem. Because there's a lot of people that my husband, I, we have clients or that we talk with online about how to fix the problem, but we realized the first step is you really, you have to, first and foremost, be ready to fix it. And you have to understand why they're ghosting you, right? So it's just like you don't want to post a ghost when you want to fix that the leads are not following you. You first want to identify why your leads are possibly disengaging with you online, and this is where I often see businesses going wrong.
So one of the first things is not targeting the right leads. I mean, have you ever felt like this in your dating life? Maybe, if you're happily married, maybe when you were younger, that for whatever reason, you just either couldn't get a date or couldn't keep a date, and if you think back on it, probably a lot of those people had a lot of things in common. They probably were not the right one for you, right? So it's the same kind of thing when it comes to getting the right clients for your business. You don't want to cast a net that's too wide. You'll attract leads who just aren't a good fit, and they're going to be the first ones to ghost you, because honestly, you're not speaking to them, and when you try to keep speaking to everyone, you're going to speak to no one.
Another area that I see businesses often go wrong online is just simply a lack of personalization, right? I get it, AI can be such a gift and such a tool nowadays, especially when you are a busy business owner. However, those generic, automated messages, they just don't feel personal. Leads want to feel like they're dealing with a human, not a machine, and that's truly only going to be something that I feel we're going to see a rise in. If you've been listening to my podcast for any time in the past couple months, you'll know that I've used the phrase trust recession a lot, especially in 2025 and we're just seeing that happen in unprecedented amounts. People are just not trusting people as much in general, in real life, but especially online, so business owners have an even bigger hurdle to leap over in order to build that trust, but that's what you're here for, right?
So if you've listened to this podcast any other time before, or if this is your first episode, I'm happy to say that these episodes are short and sweet, and they get right to the point. I will always leave you with actionable steps. So your first actionable step today to fix your lead gen problem is go back to your lead generation methods. Basically go back to the basics. Are you speaking directly to your ideal client? Are your messages or interactions customized to show that you understand their specific needs? Shift that, and you're going to see a shift in your leads coming to you.
Now let's talk about the difference between activity and engagement. One simple way of seeing the difference is activity is the work you do, right? So that is creating the post, posting them, sending the direct messages, commenting on posts. Engagement is really the quality of those actions. When you focus on activity, you're really just filling space, right? But when you focus on engagement, you're really actually helping fill the void, the void that someone is looking to fill with the services or offers that you have. Ultimately, by doing that, you're going to build trust and relationships with your potential clients.
So how do we do this, right? So here's your second actionable step. Look at your most recent posts or outreach. Ask yourself some questions. Ask yourself, are you asking meaningful questions? Are you starting real conversations, or are you just broadcasting your message? Are you just talking at someone? I've even applied this principle to my parenting methods. Am I talking at my kids, or am I talking with my kids? If I want a different response, I've got to first act differently, and it's amazing at what you can do by just simply asking someone a question, peaking that curiosity, you're going to see the trust and the relationship grow better.
So what I want to implore you to do is to take 10 minutes today to engage personally with at least five leads. Ask them a question about something they've posted or share something of value to them. Don't make it transactional. Don't make it about something that you offer. Just make it a genuine interaction. So here's the trick. Build trust and connection first. I know it's not sexy, I know it's often hard work, but lead gen isn't about making the sale. It's about starting a relationship and starting a relationship with your audience and your ideal clients. When you treat leads like they're people instead of sales targets, that's when and where the magic happens.
So your last actionable step today is to go ahead and take a look at your follow ups. When was the last time you checked in with a lead without pitching them? Make it a point to send at least two "just checking in" messages this week, where the goal is simply to just keep the conversation alive and keep it flowing without asking for a sale.
Now, before we wrap up today, I want to make sure that you're set up for success, right? I want you guys to nail lead gen, I want you to be able to feel like you've got an actual plan and that your plan is working and it's not working you. So if you're wondering why the content that you're putting out there, why the social media content you're putting out isn't converting, make sure to grab our free guide, "The Five Quiet Reasons Your Content Isn't Converting and What to Do Instead". You can find it in the show notes below. This guide will help you pinpoint the hidden issues that might be holding you back from more conversions.
And if you're ready to really implement the actionable steps I gave you this episode and to get your leads organized all in one place? So you know what I'm saying, it's easy for you to send out those two checking in messages. Well, make sure to grab our brand new, free lead tracker. This tool helps you keep track of all your leads and spots for their details, reminders, follow ups so you never have to lose touch with a potential client again.
And lastly, if you're feeling like you could just use some one-on-one help with your lead gen strategy, let's hop on a connection call. I'd love to help you develop a custom plan that works for your business and to see if perhaps we're aligned and working together. All these links are in the show notes below. Thank you guys so much for tuning into Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses. If you're a small business owner, please immediately go share this episode with another small business owner that you know, because sharing is caring, and we want to help others thrive. We want to help others achieve their business goals, and one way we can do that is by sharing the love, sharing the value that we all know and offer. And let's start off by sharing this episode.
And if this podcast has blessed you in any way, would you please come let me know? Go ahead and drop me a review and let me know which episode stood out to you and what you love and what you'd like to see in a future episode. I read each and every review, and you might just hear one of your reviews read live here on air on a future episode. Again, boss. Best of luck. You've got this. I'm giving you a big virtual hug, and I will see you on the next episode of Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses. All right, my friend, that's it for today. But let me leave you with this. If your content is not converting, it's not your fault. Chances are you've been taught to prioritize the algorithm instead of the actual humans reading your words and that that ends right here. Go ahead and grab my free guide. "Five Quiet Reasons Your Content Isn't Converting and What to Do Instead". It's packed with real talk, practical shifts and quick, immediate wins. Link is in the show notes below.
And if you're ready to stop guessing and start connecting with ideal clients who actually buy from you, book a free connection call with our team at Kuleanna Connect. We don't do content. We do connection that converts because at the end of the day, it's not about going viral, it's about being valuable. Thanks for hanging out with me again. I'm Cheyanne Cleyman and I'll see you on next week's episode. See you later, boss.